Gov. Reeves has opted Mississippi into the federal tax-credit voucher program created by Congress last year, bringing federal vouchers to Mississippi. The law will use federal tax dollars to pay back donors for contributions to “Scholarship Granting Organizations” (SGOs) that provide vouchers for private school tuition. See the details here. Gov. Reeves will choose the SGOs that will decide which students and which private schools will get the taxpayer-funded vouchers.
The law that created the federal tax-credit vouchers was extremely vague and requires the Treasury Secretary to develop rules to govern the program. The federal rule-setting process allows for public feedback, and you can see here the public comments submitted by The Parents’ Campaign Research & Education Fund.
Notably, the federal voucher law requires states to renew or decline their participation annually, with governors making the decision to opt in or not. This makes the next gubernatorial election critically important. Please pay attention to the school choice stances of those positioning themselves to run for governor in 2027. Mississippians deserve elected officials at every level who reflect our values and concerns.
Thank you to the many thousands of you who have reached out to your lawmakers about HB 2, the dangerous school choice legislation pushed through the Mississippi House last week. HB 2 passed with the bare minimum number of yea votes required for passage (61), a threshold that was lowered from 62 to 61 by the absence of a representative. The bill was held in the House on a Motion to Reconsider, but that motion was tabled today, moving the bill on to the Senate. Please continue to contact your senators about HB 2, urging them to vote NO! Find their contact info here.
Two sections of HB 2 make particularly clear the double standard to which voucher promoters want to hold public schools and the state-funded private voucher schools they desire. Sections 85 and 86 of HB 2 create entirely new accountability “dashboards” on which public schools would be required to publish detailed financial and academic data. Public financial dashboard reporting would include monthly reports of individual line-item expenditures and disbursements, along with actual monthly revenue data by fund and source.
Additional academic dashboard accountability reporting required of public schools in HB 2 includes, in addition to school and district letter grades: grades 3 and 8 reading and math proficiency and growth; truancy and absenteeism rates; dropout rates; graduation rates; student-to-teacher ratios; college, career, and workforce readiness metrics; college placement rates; job placement rates; military placement rates; average ACT and ACT WorkKeys scores; special class offerings; college and career-readiness index scores; number of teachers with advanced degrees/certifications; number of teachers with industry experience; teacher turnover rates; and the number of long-term substitute teachers.
Meanwhile, none of that is required of private voucher schools. In fact, Section 4 of the bill prohibits the state from regulating in any way the curriculum, instructional methods, admissions policies, hiring practices, or religious instruction of private voucher schools. Section 8 says that private voucher schools cannot be required to administer Mississippi’s statewide assessments or be subjected to state accountability ratings. While voucher students are required to take a nationally normed test, parents are allowed to choose the assessment their child will take, no common assessment is mandated for a private school, and no public reporting of an individual school’s test results is required.
The Fund Manager, who oversees the voucher program, is tasked with determining the eligibility of Magnolia Savings Account (MSA) expenditures. Certified Educational Assistance Organizations (CEAOs) or vendors may have “categorical” expenditures examined, but there is no fiscal accountability at all for private schools receiving these funds.
Please ask the representatives who voted for this bill why two state-funded schools should be held to such vastly different standards. Why is it that public school parents need so much information about their schools while private school parents need none?
Share this update with others, and ask that they call, too. Legislators who voted for this bill should be held accountable. Together, we’ve got this!
